On a trip to Claude Monet’s house in Giverny, France, architect and interior designer James Mohn appreciated the garden’s trailing trumpet vines, tall dahlias and larkspur, and sensuous water lilies. But he fell in love with Monet’s dining room. Its chrome yellow walls radiate optimism. Windows framed by green screens and shutters turn glimpses of the garden into living landscape paintings. On the day of Mohn’s visit, the table was set with dinnerware designed in 1898 by the Impressionist master himself, in colors of sunshine and blue skies.
James Mohn Designs a Table Setting Around Claude Monet’s Dining Room
The yellow- and blue-striped service was used for grand dinners, while traditionally patterned blue and white plates were used for everyday occasions. (Mohn notes that the latter coordinated perfectly with the blue-drenched kitchen adjacent to the dining room.) The Foundation Claude Monet revived the pattern in 1976 in collaboration with Limoges-based porcelain maker Robert Haviland & C. Parlon. In Pittsburgh, they’re available at Glassworks and Contemporary Concepts.
Back home, Monet’s dinnerware is part of Mohn’s breakfast ritual. The plates are a crisp jumping off point for a day of bringing order and beauty into his clients’ homes.
A Design Lesson To-Go
Travel can be an exciting source of visual inspiration. When Cupid’s aesthetic arrow strikes deep, buy while you’re there and ship it home.
Story by Keith Recker
Styling by Danny Mankin
Photography by Laura Petrilla
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